I Don't Volunteer
by TeamGaleTomlinson
Summary: Katniss never volunteered. Gale got repaed and Rory steps up to take his place. The Games have begun.
1. Unexpected

**A/N: I co-wrote this story with my good friend KAB. You can see our paring list .com/IDVParings **

PRIM'S POV

"Primrose Everdeen!"

Hey… that's me. Oh crap, I'm going to the Games. I glance over at Katniss and see that she's nodding reassuringly and waving me forward. "Go Prim!" she whispers. Well, if Katniss thinks I should go, maybe it'd be better this way. I make my way towards the stage. Effie pulls me up and I keep my face straight. Haymitch, on the other hand, lets his face crack into a smile. He limps over to me.

"Nice kid," He laughs drunkly "Hey, you're Katniss' sister, right?" I give a slight nod "Well, I like your sister. She's got spunk. More than you!" He points a shaky finger at the cameras. Haymitch might be taunting the Capitol. Yikes. "More than you!" He repeats.

His body tilts forward a little mid-taunt and he plunders to the ground. Some Peacekeepers carry him away on a stretcher. I recocnize a stretcher because my mother still has one from her apothecary days as we call them.

"Now onto the gentlemen!" Effie trills. She plucks a slip from the top of the boys' bowl. "Gale Hawthorne!" Oh great, I'll be trying to kill Katniss' best friend! I watch Rory's face. It sinks as Gale walks forward.

"No!" Rory cries "I volunteer for Gale Hawthorne!"

"Rory, no." Gale says firmly, his hands clenched in fists. He shakes Rory off.

"Oh, we have a volunteer!" Effie's nearly beside herself with excitement.

"No, we don't!" Gale shouts "I'm Gale Hawthorne and I volunteer for myself! Now shut it, Capitol!" Peacekeepers start dragging Gale away from Rory. He curses at them and yells at Rory. "Let me go!"

"Unfortunately for you, rules are rules." Effie pulls Rory onto the stage next to me "This young man volunteered first." She turns to Rory "What's your name?"

"Rory Hawthorne." He chokes out. Now Katniss' face is truly shocked. Rory has real guts to do this.

"I bet my hat that was your brother, hmm?" Effie jokes gingerly. But Gale will not take it as a joke, I know that.

"In case you haven't noticed, YOU DON'T HAVE A HAT!" Gale screams. He's getting dragged toward his mother, Hazelle. She hugs him and starts crying into his shirt. Posy doesn't know what';s happening. Vick just stands frozen in disbelief. Gale is trying to be strong for his family.

While the cameras are trained on the Hawthornes, I turn to Rory. "What made you do that?" I ask.

"Gale has so much to live for." He says, his gray eyes pouring deep inside of me "He'll keep my family alive. I, could never do that." The sadness in his eyes is relentless.

Out of impulse, I hug him. "I think Katniss thought that about herself." I laugh "She was obviously thinking about taking my place."

"It'll be okay, Prim." He's smiling now "We'll just kill eachother, all right? Save our families the pain."

Mayor Undersee starts the Treaty of Treason and soon Rory and I are at the Justice Building. We'll each be allowed an hour for visitors. Surprisingly, my first guests are Gale and Katniss. Gale's arm is slung around her shoulder. I suddenly wonder what was happening.

"Prim!" Katniss runs over to me, pulling me into a hug "Try to stay alive, okay? For as long as possible. I heard what Rory said. Don't. You're going to win."

"What?" is all I can manage. I can't win and all of Panem knows it. But I nod anyway. "Okay. How come you didn't volunteer for me?" I ask

"I was considering it," Katniss says guiltily "But I didn't because I have faith in you. Killing might not be your forte, but when it's for your life, you'll be a natural." Tears are forming in her gray eys and she walks out

" Keep Rory alive." Gale says "Don't kill him like he wants. Katniss told me everything. Don't let him lay a finger on you, either." He bends down to whisper something "Don't tell him I said this, but he actually likes you." Gale pats my backs and laughs

"I will." I say smiling "He won't hate you for it. I might actually like him, too, but I don't know for sure…"

"Admit it." He says "At your interview. It'll be good for sponsors. I'll be waiting." With that, Gale leaves and waits to visit Rory. My mother walks in next. She's not crying, so that's a good sign. As soon as her arms are around me, she starts sobbing. _Be strong, Prim. Don't crack. _

"Hey, Mom?" I half-ask "It's okay. I'm gonna be fine." She nods and wipes her tears away; this must be hard for her.

"Yes, Prim, you'll be fine." Her saddened face cracks with a smile and a shard of laughter "Here, Prim. It's from Katniss, but she was trying to be strong for you. Please use it as your district token." My mother slides a piece of paper into my hand and closes my fingers around it.

I open my hand and read it. "Mom, this is a Webkinz code!" I laugh in her face "No one plays Webkinz anymore. Tell Katniss that."

She laughs back "I told her that, but she insisted. Try it out. Maybe you'll like it." I give her one last hug and she leaves. Hazelle visits me for a while and them my hour is over. Rory walks out of his room clutching something in his hand. Must be his token. I'm about to ask when Effie starts hauling us to the tribute train.

"Come along, children." She trills in an annoying Capitol accent "Haymitch should be on the train soon. It's just after that fall he might need a little healing time, no?" I look around, waiting for Gale's taunting voice to yell out an argument on that. Effie notices my looking and laughs. "Planning an escape, are we?"

"No." I say "Just checking around. Thought that Gale might show up and make a comment like earlier. Always can count on Gale for that." Me an Rory start laughing. Effie just looks at us like we're two pitiful kids eating out of her garbage. "Oh, sorry if we disgusted you." I add quickly "It's just, Gale's a little…"

"He always says what he thinks, really." Rory says

"Exactly." I say.

**A/N: So, whatdya think? This was fully KAB's idea. You guys can be sure you're getting a good story with both of us. Great seprate but unstopabble together. Thanks for the idea, BFF!**


	2. Feelings Revealed

My shirtfront is soaked with tears of regret and sorrow. Not mine, but Katniss'. She's been crying for an hour about how she should have volunteered for Prim and how Prim's gonna die in the bloodbath. She sniffles and looks up at me and gives me a half-smile. "Hey Gale," Katniss chokes out

"Welcome back," I say mockingly, hoping this will make her smile "I missed you." I kiss her lightly and she tries to stifle a fit of laughter, then catches sight of my soaked shirt.

"God, Gale, sorry about your shirt, I mean, it's just…" Katniss tries to explain her thoughts to me, but her voice cracks

"Prim." I say, remembering the pain of Rory volunteering "Have you forgotten I was just reaped? My 12-year-old brother's going to the Games and you think I'm fine with that?" The temper in my voice is rising "It's one thing when you're just ranting on about a horrible Capitol, but now they took Rory away! Katniss, both of them can't win so either one's gonna die or they both do." She looks even worse now, so I release the tight grip I had on her arm. I didn't even know I was doing that. I start to calm down. "Don't worry, Prim's gonna be the one coming home. I told Rory to try to keep Prim alive."

"And he actually went along with that?" Katniss sniffles "I mean, you're basically asking him to ally with her until they're the only two left then commit suicide. Prim would never do that for me, and I'd never ask her to."

"It wasn't a big deal." I smirk "Because Rory would have done it anyway." I have a huge grin on my face that is undeniable. Anyone would know I'm about to reveal a HUGE secret "He might have a tiny crush on Prim. Or a big one, I suppose."

"This is juicy!" It's nearly impossible to remember that Katniss was bawling her eyes out just a minute ago "We'll tell everybody! Greasy Sae, Hazelle, my mom, Haymitch…" She trails off "This could mean HUGE sponsorships for them!" I laugh and nod "Besides, I already have enough money saved up for a laptop. I was going to buy one for myself, but Prim needs it more." I am really confused. Why does Primn need a laptop? "I gave her a Webkinz code for her district token so she needs to play!"

"All right." I take her hand "Then I guess you better pack. We're going to the Capitol to get Prim a laptop!"

KATNISS' POV

Soon Gale and I are boarding a train to District 3. We get a laptop there from this victor named Beetee's shop, take it to the Capitol, demand Haymitch send it in immideatley, and then stay in the Capitol. I'm personally REALLY excited about this. I mean, who wouldn't be? We're going to another district AND the Capitol. Plus we're meeting two victors. TWO! I'm not sure if Gale's excited as much as I am, but I know he is a little bit. He's bringing some money to sponsor Rory. I'm not going to tell him that Haymitch might use the money to sponsor Prim. And vice versa, too.

Wait, that means Prim might not get her laptop! I'll kill Haymitch if he gives it to Rory. Suck him for life! The Games start tommorw and we're both nervous wrecks. Gale is pacing in the middle of our hotel room chanting "Om my frap, oh my frap, oh my frap." I finally get so annoyed I punch him in the back. "What the frap was that for?" He asks

"Will you stop chanting, please?" I put on a puppy dog face.

"It's just so nerve-wracking!" Gale starts pacing again. Before I know what the heck I'm doing, I kiss Gale. I instantly regret it.

RORY'S POV

After the goodbyes, Effie shoved us into a long, black car. She said it was her job to 'escort' us, and apparently that means she pushes into cars. I think the car is called a limo. I've seen one in a video of the old days. It takes us to the train station, which is hardly ever used because travel between districts is forbidden, except for transporting goods. This, for us, is mainly coal. I've never actually been on a train, because I'm not old enough to drive the coal trains. Judging by where I'm going, I'll never be a miner. I'll be dead before that happens.

After a few minutes of standing in awe of our luxurious surroundings on the huge train, Effie chirps "Your rooms are just down the hall!" she points to our left with a long, bright fuchsia talon. "Be ready for dinner in an hour!" I imagine what a huge feast dinner will bring. Back home, it would be soggy bread and a piece of Prim's cheese, and some meat if we were lucky. In the Capitol, the standards are much higher…

PRIM'S POV

Just one room on this high-speed train must be bigger than my entire house! Effie tells me to do anything I want. Everything on this train is at my disposal. The first thing I want to do is create a Webkinz account. I takes some time to find a computer. Surprisingly, I haven't lost the code, mainly because Katniss pinned it to my shirt when she snuck back to make sure I had it. When I got to the home page, it asked for a username. I type in 20 usernames, but they're all taken. I decide to go to dinner. Rory's already at the table, and he's fiddling with a piece of paper. I look over his shoulder, and he glances up at me. "Gale's advice." Rory says. "Number one. Don't trust Haymitch. Go with your instincts. Number two. Choose your allies carefully."

"He means me, right?" I laugh. Of course Gale meant me. Rory frowns. "Actually, I think he meant the Careers. They're the ones who can keep me alive the longest… I just have to impress them in training. Anyway, number three. Once you're in the arena, go for the Cornucopia. That's where you get life-sustaining supplies."

I'm furious. Forget saying I'm in love with Rory at the interviews! A few servants dressed in red bring out huge trays of food with everything from chicken to buttered rolls to soup and set them on the table. Effie scrambles into the room in those ten-inch heels and exclaims, "Oh, you're early! Always the sign of a winner!" We wait until Effie trills "Dig in!" until we dive into the feast in front of us. I take my anger at Rory out on the fluffy rolls, the rich stews. Effie keeps telling us to save room, for there's more coming. Being from the Seam, that's hard to believe, but she's right, more and more food arrives on silver platters. Finally, its dessert, but I'm so stuffed, all I can eat is a dainty little cupcake with a cute, smiley face design on it. When I finish, there's a complete silence. I say "Hey, Effie, can I get a computer in my room?" "Of course. Like I said, everything is at your disposal."

"I missed supper?" A gruff voice comes from the hall.

"Oh, Haymitch…" Effie clearly isn't happy about our mentor's presence. "We were just having dessert, but I'm sure someone could get you something to eat," Rory tries to help Effie out. "Get me a drink!" he barks to the nearest attendant. The silent attendant nods and scurries into the kitchen.

"So, you're our mentor." Rory attempts to break the ice. "Any advice for us?"

"Here's some advice. Stay alive." He starts laughing, and then poured himself more wine. "That's funny," Rory says. "Only not to us."

His hand thrusts out to knock the glass out of Haymitch's hand. "Oh, I see I have a pair of fighters this year." Haymitch doesn't seem that upset. "So what are your strengths?"

"Nothing," we say at the same time. Haymitch laughs. "You're a cute kid. That's all you need," he says to me.

"And as for you," he addresses Rory, "if you really don't have anything you're good at, you're hopeless."

"Thanks," Rory mumbles, "for the encouragement." I'm tired of this conversation, so I just get up and walk back to my room. I see a desktop computer has been set up on my desk. I open up Webkinz and type in a username inspired by my dessert: cutiecupcake12. I finally register my new code, and I name it Sammy. I watch the tutorial, and know immediately what I want to do first. The Wheel of Wow, of course! I mean, you just spin the little wheel, and get a prize! Cool, right? Then I go to Quizzy's Corner. I'm really good at the coal category. I want more Webkinz, so I dial in Room Service's number into the phone and ask for five Webkinz pets. In less than fifteen minutes, I've named and registered each one. Then I move on to creating my house. Notebook has a bamboo themed bedroom. Coal has a ballet theme. Bob has a unicorn theme. And so on.

KATNISS' POV

"Sorry, it's just… it's so annoying!" I apologize. Gale might have gotten the idea that I like him. Wait, that's the right idea. Oh frap.

"It's okay." Gale shakes his head like it's nothing "Cause I like you, too."  
_

**Okay, what do you think? Check out our IDV (I Don't Volunteer) pages on my wiki! .com/I+Don%27t+Volunteer **


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